First round proper

The First Round featured those non-league teams who had come through the qualifying rounds and the teams from the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system. The matches were played on 14 November 1997. There were fourteen replays, with four ties requiring a penalty shootout to settle them.

Second Round Proper

The second round of the competition featured the winners of the first round ties. The matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 6 December 1997, with nine replays and three penalty shootouts required, each of which featured a team who won on penalties in the previous round.

Third round proper

The third round of the season's FA Cup was scheduled for Saturday, 3 January 1998, although six matches were postponed until later dates. This round marked the point at which the teams in the two highest divisions in the English league system, the Premier League and the Football League First Division (now known as the Football League Championship). There were eight replays, with two of these games requiring a penalty shootout to settle it.

Fourth Round Proper

The Fourth Round ties were played with the thirty-two winners of the previous round. The matches were originally scheduled for Saturday, 24 January 1998. There were five replays, with one penalty shootout.

Fifth Round Proper

The Fifth Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 14 February 1998. There were four replays, with one penalty shootout.

The biggest surprise of the round was arguably Barnsley's 3-2 win (in the replay that followed a 1-1 draw) over Manchester United. Barnsley were in their first season as a top division side (and ended it with relegation), while United were defending league champions and were also in contention for the league title and the European Cup at this time, although they ended the season trophyless.

Sixth Round Proper

The Sixth Round ties were scheduled for the weekend of the 7th and 8 March 1998. Two replays were played on the 17th, both of which went to penalties.

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United, Division One sides, both progressed to the semi-finals at the expense of Premier League sides. Wolverhampton Wanderers were particularly impressive in doing this, as the side they eliminated from the cup (Leeds United) went on to finish fifth in the Premier League.

Replays

Semi-Finals

The two semi-final matches were played on Sunday 5 April 1998. Both ties were played at neutral venues, and resulted in a clear victories for Arsenal and Newcastle United, who went on to meet in the final at Wembley. The losing sides were both non-Premiership teams, who endured further disappointment over the next few weeks by being pipped to promotion from Division One.

External links

The 1997–98 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 95th in the Football League. They finished in seventh position in the 24-team Division One, the second tier of the English football league system, missing out on the playoff places on goals scored. Needing to win their last game, at home to Charlton Athletic, and hope that Sheffield United failed to win theirs, Birmingham "were repeatedly foiled in this emotionally-charged game by a brilliant display from Charlton's goalkeeper" Saša Ilić; the game finished goalless. They entered the 1997–98 FA Cup at the third round, losing to Leeds United in the fifth, and entered the League Cup in the first round and lost to Arsenal in the third.

In August 1997, co-owner David Gold took up the post of chairman after Jack Wiseman's retirement.

The 1997–98 FA Cup Qualifying Rounds opened the 117th season of competition in England for 'The Football Association Challenge Cup' (FA Cup), the world's oldest association football single knockout competition. A total of 563 clubs were accepted for the competition, down 11 from the previous season’s 574.

The large number of clubs entering the tournament from lower down (Levels 5 through 8) in the English football pyramid meant that the competition started with five rounds of preliminary (1) and qualifying (4) knockouts for these non-League teams. The 28 winning teams from Fourth Round Qualifying progressed to the First Round Proper, where League teams tiered at Levels 3 and 4 entered the competition.

The 1997–98 season was the 76th season of competitive association football and 69th season in the Football League played by York City Football Club, a professional football club based in York, North Yorkshire, England. They finished in 16th position in the 24-team 1997–98 Football League Second Division. They were eliminated from the 1997–98 FA Cup in the second round by Wigan Athletic, from the 1997–98 League Cup in the second round by Oxford United, and from the 1997–98 Football League Trophy in the Northern section second round by Blackpool.

28 players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were 16 different goalscorers. Midfielder Mark Tinkler missed only two of the 53 competitive matches played over the season. Striker Rodney Rowe finished as leading goalscorer with 16 goals, of which 11 came in league competition, three came in the FA Cup, one came in the League Cup and one came in the Football League Trophy.

The 1998 FA Cup Final was a football match between Arsenal and Newcastle United on 16 May 1998 at the old Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1997–98 FA Cup, the 117th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. Six-time winners Arsenal were appearing in their thirteenth final, whereas Newcastle United, having also won the competition six times, appeared in their eleventh final. It was the third time both teams faced each other in a FA Cup final; Newcastle won the previous two encounters in 1932 and 1952.

Each team had progressed through five rounds to reach the final. Arsenal's victories were close affairs and the team required three replays, two of which ended in penalty shootouts. Newcastle's progress was more comfortable by comparison and needed only one replay in the fourth round, against Stevenage Borough. Arsenal entered the match as favourites; a fortnight prior the club won the Premier League and aimed to complete the club's second league and cup double.

Watched by a stadium crowd of 79,183 and a British television audience of more than seven million, Arsenal took a first half lead through Marc Overmars. Newcastle's performance improved in the second half, and striker Alan Shearer almost equalised when his shot hit the inside of David Seaman's post. Moments later the league champions extended their lead when Nicolas Anelka was put through to score. Arsenal's victory was heralded by the English press, and the club capped off its memorable season with an open-top bus parade. It was Arsène Wenger's first FA Cup triumph as a coach; he went on to win six more finals in a 22-year spell at the club to become the competition's most successful manager.

Alan Kelly Jr. (born 11 August 1968) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Preston North End, Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers, along with short loan spells at Stockport County and Birmingham City. Born in Preston, Kelly represented the Republic of Ireland internationally, winning 34 caps for his country. Both his father, Alan Kelly, Sr., who also represented Ireland, and older brother, Gary Kelly, played as goalkeepers.

Alexander Manninger (born 4 June 1977) is a Austrian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played internationally for the Austria national team on 33 occasions, including at UEFA Euro 2008, and has represented football clubs in Italy, Germany, Austria and England.

Annfield Plain Football Club is an amateur association football club based in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, County Durham, England. The club are currently members of the Wearside League and play at Derwent Park. They are the highest ranked club in the Stanley area, and second only to Consett A.F.C. in Derwentside.

Christopher Wreh (born 14 May 1975) is a retired Liberian international footballer who played as a striker. He was a member of the Arsenal side which won the Premier League and FA Cup double during the 1997–98 season.

At international level, he won 36 caps for Liberia, scoring 11 goals, and was in their squad for the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations.

David Gary Holdsworth (born 8 November 1968) is an English former professional footballer turned manager.

As a player, he was a defender who played between 1986 and 2005 for Watford, Sheffield United, Birmingham City, Walsall, Bolton Wanderers and Gretna. In 2008, he moved into management and has since been in charge of Ilkeston Town, Mansfield Town, Lincoln City and Goole.

Emmanuel Laurent Petit (French pronunciation: ​[ɛmanɥɛl pəti]; born 22 September 1970) is a French former footballer who played at club level for Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea as a midfielder. He represented France at international level in two FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships; he scored the third goal in France's 3–0 victory in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final and was also a member of the French squad that won UEFA Euro 2000.

Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsborough one of the smallest towns in England to have had a Football League team. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, and play at the Northolme.

Leon Osman (born 17 May 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career at Everton, making 433 appearances and scoring 57 goals. Earlier in his career he spent time on loan at Football League clubs Carlisle United and Derby County. Osman earned two international caps for the England national team, making his debut at the age of 31.

Watford Football Club is an English association football club from Watford, Hertfordshire. The club was formed in 1898 from the amalgamation of West Herts and Watford St. Mary's. As of the 2018–19 season, it competes in the Premier League, the top-flight of English football.

Nigel Winterburn (born 11 December 1963) is an English former professional footballer and current pundit for BT Sport, who played primarily as a left back from 1981 to 2003. He is best known for his role alongside the likes of Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Martin Keown and Lee Dixon, forming a celebrated defensive line for Arsenal in the Premier League and European football during the 1990s.

He also played in the Premier League for West Ham United and in the Football League for Wimbledon. He also earned two caps for England between 1989 and 1993.

Paul Ellender (born 21 October 1974) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1993 to 2011.

He played in the Football League for Boston United and Chester City, and having started his career at Scunthorpe United he also went on to play at Non-league level for Gainsborough Trinity, Altrincham, Scarborough, Alfreton Town, Retford United and North Ferriby United.

Simon Nicholas Grayson (born 16 December 1969) is an English football manager and former player.

As a player, he was a right back, but he was also utilised in midfield in a career that lasted from 1988 until 2006. Having started his career with Leeds United he played in the Premier League for Leicester City, Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers, before moving into the Football League with Sheffield Wednesday, Stockport County, Notts County, Bradford City and Blackpool. He was appointed as player/manager of Blackpool in 2005, and a year later retired from playing to concentrate on the managerial side of his job.

In 2008, he was appointed manager of Leeds United, but despite leading them to promotion to the Championship he was dismissed in February 2012. He was soon back in management, taking over from Lee Clark at Huddersfield Town. He again gained promotion from League One via the play-offs, beating Sheffield United in the final. But after a run of twelve games without a win he was dismissed at the end of January 2013.

In February 2013, Grayson became the new manager of Preston North End, taking over from Graham Westley who had been relieved of his duties the previous week. In 2017, Grayson had a brief unsuccessful spell managing Sunderland, before becoming the manager of Bradford City in February 2018. He left Bradford City in May 2018, at the end of his contract.

Stephen Andrew Bould (born 16 November 1962) is an English former professional footballer and assistant head coach of Premier League side Arsenal.

As a player, he was a defender from 1980 until 2000. Bould began his football career with his hometown club Stoke City where he gained a reputation as an impressive young defender. After spending seven seasons with the Potters, and becoming one of English football's most coveted centre backs, he moved to Arsenal in 1988. At Highbury he formed a formidable back line with Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn and his former Stoke teammate Lee Dixon and ended up with nine major honours to his name. He left the Gunners in 1999 and ended his playing career with Sunderland.Since his playing career has ended Bould has worked at the successful Arsenal Academy as Head Youth Team Coach at Arsenal. He was promoted to Assistant Manager at the start of the 2012–13 season replacing the long serving Pat Rice.

Anthony James Hibbert (born 20 February 1981) is an English retired footballer. Originally a midfielder, Hibbert converted to play at right back. He spent his entire career with Everton, having joined the club in 1991. He made his senior début for Everton in 2001, and went on to make over 300 appearances for the club in all competitions. Hibbert's one-club man status, coupled with his down to earth demeanour, earned him the status of cult figure among Everton fans.

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